Broadly, captive fastener assemblies are well known, including but not limited to a variety of captive screw devices. Many of these assemblies are relatively complex and consist of customized components. Reliability, ease of operation and overall efficiency of known fastener assemblies is often inadequate. For example, the screws used in many known fastener assemblies are custom machined components which add to costs and limit the applicability of a given assembly. Because of the customized nature of prior captive screw assemblies, a significant inventory of component parts is often required to accommodate different captive screw requirements. Furthermore, additional machinery and effort are ordinarily required to affix captive screw assemblies. Interchangeability of known assemblies has also been limited. Still further, many captive screw assemblies have inseparable components and field repair is difficult if not unfeasible. Often an entire panel or subassembly must be returned to a shop for repair or replacement when the captive screw is damaged.
Thus, a need remains for a screw captivator providing improved reliability, ease of operation, and overall efficiency. A need also exists for a system of screw captivators consisting of modular components and suitable for use with conventional threaded fasteners.